Running
by Sincynati
Summary: There is never a way to escape from the indefinite, never a way to run from the unavoidable.


Hope you enjoy! A little bit of editing has taken place (Nothing major, just schematics of grammar and whatnot). Other than that, it's the same story. :)

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, the Sand Sibs would get sooo much more screentime. :]

* * *

**Running**

She always seemed to be running these days.

Whether it was running mentally or physically, she was constantly on the move. After all, she was expected to grow up as a great kunoichi one day- and they had no time to sit still.

But then running _away_ and running _to _where two different things entirely.

First off, there was her brother Gaara. She always tried to be the best big sister she could be, but it could be really hard to do when you didn't know how. Everyone expected her to know everything about Gaara and how to treat him- but she was only five, she couldn't understand these things. Everyone called him a monster, but being the best big sister she could be, she knew it couldn't be true.

Kankurou. She ran away from him often. Even though he was only a year younger than her, it seemed like she had to do everything for him. She tried to be the best big sister for Kankurou-kun too, but he, according to the adults, was different than Gaara- he always had to be treated in a special way. Plus, he reminded her of her daddy.

She was supposed to be the best big sister for Gaara, the monster, and Kankurou, the favorite. And you treat monsters and favorites in two completely different ways.

She always ran from her father, too. He wasn't bad or anything, just a little scary. She was sure he was trying to be the best daddy he could be to them, especially because he was taking on the difficult task of raising a favorite and a monster, but he would scare the three of them something awful. Like when he would get into one of those moods, when her Jii would push her and Kankurou together in the room so they would avoid most of it, where they would huddle together and hope that daddy wouldn't direct his wrath to them.

But her running was all in her mind. It was what she always wanted to do but couldn't. She could never bring herself to just run away, physically.

Until now.

She was running as fast as her little feet could carry her, down the steps and across the sandy streets, anywhere that would hide her away, anywhere.

Daddy had gotten especially mad today, something about ambassadors and Hokages. Yashamaru-jii insisted that it wasn't her fault, that she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

_More like the right place in the wrong time,_ She thought bitterly as her feet kicked up sand from the boardwalks. Daddy had told her to be in the kitchen, to get some lunch made for Kankurou, Gaara, and him. Not like she minded- she enjoyed being in charge of something as grown-up as making lunch. But she didn't make it fast enough...

_Daddy just doesn't like the Hokage, that's it. _she concluded to herself. _And he just got really hungry because Hokages can make you really hungry_. _And I _had _been working in the kitchen for a long time..._

She tripped over air it seemed, her feet flying out from beneath her. With a plop, she landed on the ground, face first. She pushed herself up with her hands, her hair falling in front of her face, trying not to cry. Her nose hurt, and she could feel blood running down it, and see it dripping slowly onto the wooden boardwalk in which she was kneeling on. She couldn't cry. One day, she would become a accomplished kunoichi, a force to reckon with. How could she become strong if she cried over a bit of blood?

How could she become strong if all she did was run away?

She sniffled loudly and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve, leaving a trail of blood on it. She'd have to fine a way to clean it out when she got home- it'd be better then explaining to Yashamaru-jii that she tripped and almost cried.

Very suddenly, she felt completely vulnerable, kneeling on her hands and knees barely above the ground, her hair blinding her from anyone or anything that may be near.

She leapt to her feet and took off running again.

It was even windier then usual in Sunagakure. A strong gale was causing everything to fly all over the place, coating everything with dust and sand. She silently reprimanded herself for not bringing something to filter the sand from her face, it was hard to breathe with the sand beating harshly against her.

She ducked down behind a long row of market stands, closed because of the heavy wind. She cuddled herself into a little ball, pulling her knees tightly against her chest. She could still hear the wind whistling through the buildings, and could even feel it coming from the west. But at least it wasn't beating down down on her, at least it wasn't pouring sand.

"Ho, there-" She quickly looked up, terrified that maybe her father found her away from the Kazekage Tower. But what she saw instead was a woman with brown hair bunched up into four tidy ponytails, clad in traditional desert clothing.

The lady knelt down next to her, looking her over. "What's you name?" she asked gently.

Quickly, the small girl averted her eyes, taking the moment to wipe her nose on her shirt sleeve again. "Te-temari."

The woman leaned back on her heels and reached out her hand. "May I?" Temari nodded slowly before sliding her legs forward so the lady could look at her.

"Here," she pulled out a handkerchief from a pocket. "hold this against your nose, and look down." Temari followed her instructions. "That's it." The woman pulled back some of the child's thick hair to reveal a slight bruise on the side of her face. "What happened to you?" The ninja mused to herself.

Temari shook her head vigorously, not wanting to say. Fortunately, the woman didn't press further, but instead withdrew her hand and sat back, just watching.

Temari didn't like to be watched like that. "Do I look funny?"she demanded.

"No. "

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" Temari's voice was muffled by the cloth, making her voice sound as though she was talking with marshmallows in her mouth.

The woman's face became very solemn. "You remind me of my own child... " She forced a smile and stood up. After a hesitant minute, she asked in choppy words; "Where are your parents?"

Temari didn't feel like answering that, so she gave the woman a especially mean kunoichi glare.

The older one chuckled, brushing sand off of her lap. "I can tell you're going to be a fabulous shinobi one day."

The child perked up at this. It was always expected of her to become a accomplished Kunoichi, but nobody other then her father ever mentioned it- a child of the Kazekage was just _supposed_ to be great.

Temari carefully removed the bloodied handkerchief from her face and handed it to the woman, oblivious to the blood that sopped it. "Why do people get angry?"

The older woman seemed to be taken aback by this question. "Well... " she hesitated for a moment. "People get angry... when they, well... it's really hard to explain, dear. Why do you get angry?"

Temari pondered this for a second, her eyes looking up at the sky. "I get angry when Kankurou steals my dollies."

"Why?" the older one pressured.

"Because it's mean!" Temari exclaimed. "He could hurt them or turn them into one of his hideous puppets!"

The woman nodded slightly, as though she was expecting this answer. "So you get angry out of fear?"

"No-no! I, I... I don't know why I get angry!" She cried, tears springing to her eyes. Not out of fear, definitely. It couldn't be. True shinobi could not be afraid.

"Shhhh, shhhh don't get to worked up." The woman soothed, moving closer. "It's okay to admit you're afraid. "

"But, but, the shinobi?" Temari sobbed for reasons she didn't fully know herself, he little hand trying to push the tears away. "Shinobi cannot show emotions!"

The woman frowned. "Where did you hear that from?"

"Everyone says it." Temari said factually. "Daddy and Baki-Sensei and even Kankurou-kun knows it."

"I guess it's true... to an extent. "

"What- what do you mean, an e'tent?" Temari asked, looking up with teary eyes

"Well..." The woman now handed Temari a tissue to blow her nose with (which only started the bleeding back up again.) "On the battlefield, it is important to keep a balance of your emotions and being bloodthirsty. "

"Just because your a great ninja doesn't mean you are bloodthirsty!" Temari argued, feeling insulted that the woman would even consider that ninja's drank blood.

"No... but on the battlefield, dear, you sometimes forget that. "

With a small, childlike "hmmph!" Temari turned her head away and crossed her arms. Instead of the usual annoyed response she normally got from this, Temari heard a chuckle.

Temari peered at the woman curiously out of the corner of her eye. Normally, the adults would get irritated and start yelling at her when she portrayed "attitude" like that, but this one didn't. Temari decided immediately that this was the only adult out there who sort of, maybe understood her.

Curious to see what was so funny, she slowly turned her head back to the lady, her hair flopping in front of her eyes again.

The chunin pulled Temari's hair back. "You need to keep your hair out of your eyes. People can't see you pretty face." She pulled a hair tie off of her wrist. Reaching forward, she tied Temari's hair up in a pony tail on top of her head.

Not quite satisfied, the woman sat back on her knees, inspecting the bangs that still fell across Temari's eyes. "You might want to cut those." she said, waving with her hand.

Temari reached her hand up to her ponytail. Normally, she never put her hair up in anything- Yashamaru-jii was lucky if he was able to get her to brush it.

She stuck her tongue out slightly at the thought of Jii. She would run from him sometimes- Yashamaru-jii had rules, and Temari didn't like rules. Rules limited you.

Feeling her own up-do, Temari inspected the other's hairstyle- the four pony-tails balancing on her head, evenly set apart from each other.

"Why do you keep your hair like that?" Temari asked the older woman rudely. "It looks stupid."

The woman unconsciously reached her hand back. "Oh, you think so? Well, have you seen anyone else with four ponytails? It's different. "

Being different wasn't considered a good thing- at least, not to Temari. She was already different among her peers as it was- having her father being the Kazekage, her brother being a monster. Why someone would strive to be different was beyond the little girls head.

"But... why? Why would you try to be different? Being different... gives people more reason to fear you. " _Like father._ "Or hate you." _Like Gaara._

Instead of laughing, like Temari had grown to expect, the woman took in a deep breath, but not one of exasperation or annoyance. Out of sadness. "Being different makes you a human. If you're not different, you're just one of the many puppets that people try to make you... " The woman stared off into the distance, as if remembering something. "Everybody needs some sort of different quirk to define who they are, what they are."

"That's why you wear four piggytails?"

"Yeah." The woman said, finally cracking a smile.

Temari scowled, hating to be wrong. "That's a stupid reason."

"Maybe to you it is. " the older woman said with a wink.

By that time the sand had calmed down. It was still rather windy out, but at least sand wasn't flying all over the place. The heat took over the wind again.

"You better go now." The woman said, standing up. She placed back on the sand filter over her face, covering up the smile spread across her face. "I'm sure your family is worried."

Temari wasn't able to reply, because the woman knelt down and then jumped away faster then Temari could think of one.

Temari ran a lot that day. She first ran from Kankurou and Gaara, then from father. Then she ran from the sandstorm. Running from her own fears.

Now, she was running away from the awakening village, away from the strange woman. She was running back to everything she had been trying to avoid.

Her small childlike feet pounded against the desert floor, kicking up sand behind her. The Kazekage Tower loomed high above her, almost as though taunting her for running away.

With a hesitant sigh, Temari opened the door and ran inside, not wanting to face her angry father again.

#

She was running again.

She really was trying- honestly, truly trying to be the best big sister she could be, but sometimes she couldn't do it.

She guessed she was a failure, then. How was she supposed to become a great kunoichi if she couldn't handle her four-year older brother?

Her feet pounded against the pavement, much like they had a month before. This time, though, instead of it being windy and sand-blown, the Land of Wind was eerily still, not a breeze to be felt. The sun beat down upon the Village as though to punish her for her wrongdoing.

_Kankurou wasn't trying to be difficult,_ she silently defended her brother. _It's not his fault that he fell down the stairs and his leg broke._

Her hand swiped across her face to prevent the tears that where threatening to fall.

_It's not his fault that I was s'posed to be watching him an', and I didn't._

Yes, she was. A failure, that is. Considering that the best daddy ever was busy, and Yashamaru-jii was at the store... she shouldn't of kicked him out of her room. Maybe her dolls wouldn't look that bad as puppets...

Of course, daddy didn't like it that Kankurou broke his leg while running down the stairs.

_"You can watch Kankurou-kun while I go to the store, right Temari?"_

_"Only if he pumises not to turn my dollies into puppets. "_

_"Temari-chan, he won't, okay? You need to be a big sister now. "_

She really, really did try to be the best big sister she could be. But her dollies...

_"I thought you where a big enough girl to handle this."_

_"Just get out! Out! Leave until you grow up!"_

She sniffled and ducked behind some buildings, blocking the sun.

_Daddy I'm sorry!_

The little girl looked down for a second, trying to squeeze away her tears. When she looked up, a stone wall was merely inches from her, and she rammed into it with a squeal of terror. Her head hurt really bad, and her nose was squished.

She turned her back to the wall and slid down in, trying to contain her sobs. How would she become a kunoichi if she bumped into walls? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

A door opened from the wall just a few feet away. Temari pulled her legs up close and hid her head behind her knees, hoping whoever it was wouldn't notice her.

Instead, a familiar laugh rang out, echoing in the tight-knit buildings. "Look at you! You're in the exact same position I found you last time!"

Temari allowed herself a peek to see a woman with brown piggy-tails smiling down at her.

_The_ woman.

The lady reached her hand out. After a moments hesitation, Temari took it and the woman pulled her up. "It just so happened that you knocked your noggin up against my house. Would you believe that? Come on, I got some hot tea on the stove, that should cheer you up."

Yashmaru-jii had told her time and time again never to go with a stranger, anywhere- 'specially their house.

Temari looked up at the lady to give her a polite "No thanks", but she was already being hustled towards the door...

Besides, she wasn't a stranger- they _had_ met before.

Temari let the woman shut the door behind her, the lady still talking on and on as though they where best friends and this was normal. "...isn't it? I mean, you think I'd be used to it now, it is the desert, but I guess some things you never get used to." She continued to talk as she headed to a stove and stirred something.

The first thing the five-year-old noticed about the woman's house was how small it was. There was only one room downstairs- the one they where standing in, and that was cluttered with a section for the kitchen and dining room, another small area with a bunch of toys, and a small, lumpy couch in a corner. A small stairway led somewhere upstairs, but it was too dark for Temari to see what was on top.

"... do you want honey?" The woman asked, bringing two mugs of tea away from the counter.

"Sugar?" Temari asked hopefully.

"Sure, wait a minute." The woman said, placing the cups on the table. "Be careful, it's hot." She warned over her shoulder.

Temari made a face at the tea, not liking the bitter smell.

"Mooooommmmaaaaaa!" a cry rang out from the other side of the room.

The lady placed the sugar on the table and took off for the other side of the room. Temari saw a small figure come out of a bundle on the couch she had failed to notice before, its face red and angry.

For some reason, it reminded her of Kankurou.

The woman picked up the screaming child and came over to where Temari was sitting.

"Sorry about that, Matsuri can't be without me for long. " She said with a smile.

"How old is she?" Temari asked curiously, looking the child up and down.

"She's almost four." The woman said with a smile.

Temari made a face. "My brother's three, too, and he's a big baby. "

"Yes, well, they tend to be at that age." the woman said dryly.

Temari dumped a load of sugar into her tea, hoping that maybe the sweetness would drown out it's sourness. She took a test sip, and nearly gagged at the taste.

"Would you like some chocolate milk instead?" The woman asked, amused.

Temari pushed the tea away. "Why didn't you tell me you had chocolate milk before?" she asked with a especially mean kunoichi glare.

The lady picked up her daughter and placed her on the chair next to her, standing up.

The little five-year-old watched as the woman worked in the kitchen, then directed her attention to the smaller child, who was openly staring at her. "Don't you know it's rude to stare?" Temari reprimanded in her best big-sister voice.

The little child continued to stare, only stopping to blink.

Temari pressed her lips to the side. "It's also polite, " she explained, " that when you have a guest, you introduce yourself."

The little girl didn't say anything. With a sigh, Temari brushed her bangs out of her face. "I'm Temari. What's your name?"

"Matsuri." The little girl said.

"Well, that's a stupid name. " Temari mused, mostly to herself.

In no time, the little girl scrunched up her face and started to cry, a thin wail that pierced through the house.

_Oh no!_ Temari thought, suddenly horrified. What if the nice lady thought she meant to make Matsuri cry? "Please don't cry, I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" Temari looked around the room wildly for some sort of play-thing within reach. "Shhh, shhh..." she grabbed the nearest thing available-her tea-spoon- and pushed it over to the child. "Here- here!"

The smaller child ceased her wining to inspect the spoon. " 't's dirty." She wined.

Temari ignored Matsuri and grabbed it back. She breathed onto it, and then looked up to the ceiling and placed it on the bridge of her nose. Slowly, she removed her hands. "See?" She said. The spoon fell off with a clatter, and Temari pushed it back to the child. "See if you can do that. "

Matsuri giggled and clapped her hands as she attempted to do the same.

The lady emerged from the kitchen with two mugs of chocolate milk. She shot them a smile and placed them down on the table. The girls immediately grabbed the chocolate milk and slurped it down in a hurry. After a minute of so of contented drinking, the two children put down their glasses with a contented sigh.

"Now, all better?" The woman questioned, her finger tracing the outline of her teacup.

The two girls nodded enthusiastically.

"Thank you." Temari said, her mouth lined with a milk mustache.

The woman handed her a napkin.

"I thought you where a ninja." Temari said, wiping her mouth.

"I am." The eldest replied.

Temari glared at her. " No, you're not. " she placed the napkin on the table. "You're a mommy."

"What do you mean...?"

"You can't be both a ninja and a mommy." Temari pointed out with little kid logic.

"Why not? I'm sure your mommy is a ninja. "

"Mommy's dead." Temari said in a whisper.

"Oh." A silence seemed to overtake the room. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Temari said. "I'm sure she was trying to be the best mommy she could be. "

The woman smiled sadly. "I'm sure she was. "

"But just because daddy is the best 'inja ever and mommy was the best mommy she could be doesn't mean that you can be both a ninja and a mommy. Daddy's are 'injas, and mommy's are mommies."

"I see... "

Temari looked at the woman with a accomplished look on her face. The woman, completely confused, nodded slowly and picked up the mugs to put away.

"How, how do you become the very best ninja you can?" Temari asked hesitantly.

The lady thought about this for a bit. "Well, it takes a lot of practice. Lot's and lot's of practice. But the most important thing is that you have the learn to believe in yourself."

Temari let her feet dangle below the table, not replying.

"Why are you asking?"

"Oh, just wondering." Temari said with a sigh. "Because sometimes it's really hard to p'actice and stuff when you're only five years old."

"But you have to believe in yourself too, sweetie. You may not have a whole lot of ... skill, or have the advantages grown ups have. But if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. "

Temari looked up at the woman, who was smiling back down at her. Her hair was still done in four piggy-tails, and they looked so strong and brave to Temari then.

"It must be really hard to be a 'inja and a mommy at the same time. " Temari mused.

"It sure is. "

Temari sat in the woman's house for a contented minute, not wanting to leave but knowing she had too before Jii went out looking for her and caught her at a strangers house.

"But we're not strangers." Temari reminded herself out loud.

"What is it, dear?" The lady asked.

"Nuthin' " Temari said with a sigh. She pulled herself off of the chair. "Thank you so much for the chocolate milk and for letting me come over. I have to go now before Yashamaru-jii comes looking for me."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" The woman asked in a worried tone.

"Uh-huh. Daddy won't remember."

The woman looked at her, confused, but with a small little wave, Temari let herself out.

She walked for a bit, weaving in and out of the neighborhood, heading for the Kazekage tower once again. She would be late getting home, and good kunoichi never where late.

"Temari-chan! Temari!"

Temari lifted her head up at the sound of her name being called by her Jii. She started to run, her feet pounding on the ground as fast as the could, her blonde hair threatening to spill out of her pony-tail.

She was running back to Yashamaru-jii, back to Kankurou-san. Running back to her daddy, who told her to leave and never come back until she grew up.

That thought almost stopped her completely, but she chugged on. How could she become a good ninja unless she believed in herself?

#

Her feet pounded against the hospital floors.

Running.

Again.

Temari cursed herself for a brief moment. Why was she always running? Couldn't she slow down a bit? Maybe she wouldn't be so clumsy if she wasn't always running.

Kankurou-kun was in one of these rooms, suffering from self-inflicted poison. Apparently, he thought that his face-paint would be a tasty snack- sending him to the hospital in critical condition.

Right when Temari had seen her little brother, hooked up to countless wires and chords and lying pale in the hospital bed, she had took off running. But she knew she wasn't running to something as much as she was running away- running away from the possibility that her little baby brother might die, the fact that she had been failing in being the best sister she could be. Running away from the countless, worried paramedics around him.

Running away from the fact that she just couldn't stop running away.

She tripped over her small child's feet and fell flat onto the carpet. With a small shudder, she pushed herself up to see a bunch of people running out of another room, with a trolley of medical supplies. One of the doctors spotted Temari and a relieved expression crossed his face.

"I need you to talk to the lady in here." He said, pulling on her hand and ushering her inside.

"But- but I dunno her!" Temari protested.

"Just talk to her. She wants her daughter and she doesn't have long." The man said.

Temari found herself alone in the room with the almost- hairless woman. A complete silence took over except for the beeping of a machine that was hooked up to the patient.

Temari inched closer to the still form.

_Is she dead yet?_

Temari knew it was cruel, but maybe if she was dead she wouldn't have to ta-

"Mat-matsuri?"

Temari took in a breath of surprise and rushed to the injured ninja's side.

Temari could tell now it was definitely _the_ woman- they looked exactly alike except for one major detail- her four piggy-tails where shaved off.

Quickly, Temari diverted his eyes to the floor around her bed, where the piggy-tails where strewn all over, along with other strands of hair.

_Her beautiful hair..._

Temari felt a whimper come from within her. The lady always had taken pride in being different- how was she supposed to be different if her piggy-tails where shaven off?

"No, it's Temari." She corrected, eying the nasty scrap on the lady's head that, despite the bandaging around it, was still bleeding.

"Ah," The lady remembered with a laugh.

"What happened to your head?" Temari asked, a little more than rudely.

"It doesn't matter. " The other said with a hollow voice. "I'm going to die and their isn't much that we can do about it. "

"No, no- you can't die!" Temari protested urgently. "I mean, I mean... a bump on the head can't kill you..."

The woman looked at Temari sadly. "You can't always be running away from things, Temari. It's always good to be positive, but..." she let out a sigh. "but you can't escape the unavoidable.

Temari reached out to the lady's bandage. " My Jii is a medic-nin, I know he'll help you. An' with Jii and the other medics helping, I-"

"Temari-chan." The woman said firmly. "It's okay."

Temari grew silent.

"Sometimes, dear, " she said more gently, "you run from things that, well, you'll need to face. And to try to hide from the facts doesn't make life easier. Someday you'll need to face everything, anyway. "

"But- but your a 'inja and a mommy. You can't die." Temari whimpered.

_Don't leave Matsuri like my mommy left me._

"Everyone dies. It's a painful cycle that we have to go through..." The woman took in a shuddering breath, then reached her hand out towards Temari, pulling her hair off her face for the last time. "Your hair... nobody can see your pretty face. "

Temari clutched the woman's hand tightly, not wanting her to die. "You've gotta stay!"

_You've gotta be the mommy mine couldn't be._

"I can tell someday you'll make a fabulous kunoichi. " The woman said with a sigh. "Never giving up. That's good. Don't run, and don't give up. "

"But, but-"

"Remember what I told you, Temari? Be yourself, be different. Believe in yourself- if you do that you'll never have to run. You'll be strong enough to face it."

"No! Don't go!" Temari cried.

"Don't worry, I'll see you again. " The woman gave her a crooked smile, her last.

The beeping from the machinery around them ceased, and Temari felt the woman's hand grow limp.

"No, no no!" She cried, squeezing it.

She heard footsteps running down the hall and felt someone rush up behind her, holding a needle and some sort of medicine bottle.

"We came too late. " The doctor said to the other medics rushing in the door, looking down at the dead woman.

He came by Temari and placed his hand on the woman's neck, feeling for a pulse. He then checked the machines, and gave Temari a apologetic glance. "I'm sorry." He said, seeing that the child was obviously more disturbed about the death then he had intended.

_Shinobi do not cry._

Her bottom lip quivered, and she bit her tongue as hard as she could.

_Shinobi do not show emotions! To become a ninja I can not cry!_

But she couldn't hold it anymore, because now she was crying, wailing. Because now the doctor had his hand on her shoulder, and as trying to calm her with soothing "Shhh shhhh, it's okay."

But Temari knew it wasn't okay.

_Shinobi do not cry. People aren't supposed to die. They... they just can't.  
_

When Temari became a shinobi, it would be her job to protect the people of Sunagakure, to do everything in her power to keep them alive.

But right here, she just let the lady die in front of her eyes.

Temari didn't care anymore about anything. Despite the doctors yelling at her, despite the nurses telling her to slow down, despite everything the lady said, Temari ran. She dropped the lady's hand and ran out of the room, ran down the hall.

"Yashamaru-jii! Yashamaru-jii!" Temari wailed, her arms flailing in front of her. She raced into the room that held Kankurou, bumping right into her Jii. He stepped back in shock as the little girl plowed into him, a terrific mess of sobs and babbling noise.

After a moment of letting the little girl cry on him, Yashamaru shook her gently to shush her and moved Temari outside of the door, closing it behind him. Letting her finish up with a hiccup or two, he knelt down to her level. "What's wrong, Temari-chan? Kankurou-kun's going to be just fine."

The little girl sniffled one more time. "Oh, that's good." she said half-heartedly. She looked up at her smiling uncle. "Wh-why do people die?"

"Why do you ask that?" Yashamaru-jii asked nervously. "You don't have to worry about that now." Temari didn't reply, causing Yashamaru to sigh quietly and motion for her to sit down. "It's the cycle of life, Temari. It's... something that must be done. It's the destiny of every ninja- to train, to fight, to die and to be forgotten. "

"No!" Temari shouted, jumping up. "Not forgotten!"

"Shhh, Temari-chan. Kankurou-san is resting."

"Bu-bu when the fwirst Kazekage died, people still 'member him today." She sniffed.

"That's different. He was a great ninja. Other ninjas, well, aren't so great."

Temari gave the older man a ferocious glare. "Don't you ever say that again."

Yashamaru looked at his niece in confusion. "Temari, I'm not going to lie to you."

Temari didn't bother with a reply, instead the little kunoichi struggled out of his grip and ran down the hall, running back home.

She couldn't let the nice lady die forgotten like the other ninja. After all, she was different. She wouldn't of liked to have been forgotten.

Temari knew she wouldn't want to be forgotten like that.

Sand kicked up from behind her as she raced to the Kazekage tower.

_No no no! No more running!_

She slowed to a stop outside of the Kazekage tower. She turned her head up to the top of the tower, where it seemed to vanish into the clouds. She took in a sigh and pushed in the door.

Up the stairs, past the rooms. Past the kitchen and the hallways, all the people going in and out. Into her bathroom.

She pulled open a drawer full of hairbands given to her over the years. Glancing into the mirror, she could see her face- or, at least, her hair covering her face.

The kunoichi was right- nobody could see Temari's face.

Slowly, she pulled back one chunk of hair, revealing part of her face. It was pale, and stained with dirt and tear streaks.

As carefully as her chubby five-year-old fingers could, she pulled her hair into three, four piggy-tails.

She couldn't forget the things the lady had told her. She couldn't ever let the memory of the kunoichi to be forgotten.

Although the child didn't look a thing like the older woman- her blonde hair slopping right and left in what you could barely call piggy-tails, her face and clothes unkept and dirty- the memory of the late kunoichi was still evident in the child's face.

Temari wouldn't be running away anymore.

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:) Hope you enjoy? Please review? :)

As justification for the whole Temari-making-lunch thing- my little brother (who just turned five) makes excellent turkey sandwiches- and volunteers for it. :) Ignore the fact that there is probably some sort of cook or something in the Kage tower... :p ;)


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